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We have gun laws prohibiting criminals and people with mental/emotional disorders from buying guns...and THAT'S a "GOOD THING."
The 1st Amendment isn't without restrictions. It's illegal to threaten, or libel/slander someone...and so too, the 2nd Amendment requires sensible restrictions.
Our current bar for criminals and those with mental/emotional issues doesn't go nearly far enough.
I've said for a long time, that we HAVE gun restrictions for people with mental issues, violent felons, etc., BUT the bar is set far TOO LOW.
Currently you have to have been institutionalized for a mental disorder, in order to be barred from gun purchases and ownership. We institutionalize almost no one today.
Likewise, you have to have been convicted of a violent felony to be barred from legally owning guns. Most felony charges are plea bargained down, so many violent offenders just "slip through the cracks."
Two changes would help, make the existing restrictions more effective; (1) "Anyone diagnosed and treated for a serious mental/emotional condition (including those engaged in road rage and domestic violence incidents and sentenced to anger management deals, Depression, PTSD, etc) is barred from OWNING (NOT just buying, but owning) firearms" and (2) "Anyone charged with a violent crime and not acquitted is barred from owning (NOT just purchasing firearms), so an individual charged with a violent crime that's plea bargained down is STILL barred from owning guns.
What stops that?
Consider how many people are charged and acquitted of violent road rage & domestic violence cases, that are plea bargained down and how many cops, ex Military members, etc. who are on PTSD disability would have to surrender their guns. It'd be LOTS of us!
THAT'S where the pushback would really come from, BUT that's exactly why the bar for being able to own, not just purchase guns, should be much higher.
Last Thursday (August 1st), Ohio Governor John Kasich announced six gun policy changes recommended by a bipartisan panel. Kasich said he hopes the recommendations pass the GOP-controlled General Assembly as a package.
That panel's proposed policy changes are:
(*) Gun violence protection orders: Allow friends and family members to petition a court to remove firearms from people who pose a threat to themselves or others. A handful of states including Indiana have passed such "red flag" laws.
(*) Domestic violence: Mirror federal law prohibiting anyone convicted of a domestic violence crime or subject to a domestic violence protection order from buying or owning a firearm.
(*) Background checks: Enforce requirements that courts submit conviction information to the state's background check database in a timely manner. A Cincinnati Enquirer investigation found many courts do not routinely update information, which might allow someone to illegally buy a gun.
(*) "Strawman" purchases: Ban purchases of firearms for third parties, except as a gift. Current state law bans these purchases only if the buyer should have known the third party is prohibited from buying a gun.
(*) Armor-piercing ammunition: Update Ohio law to mirror federal law banning body armor-piercing bullets, which would allow Ohio officers to pursue charges that federal officials might not.
(*) Bump stocks: If federal officials ban bump stocks, which increase a weapon's firing rate, Ohio law should be automatically changed to ban them as well.
I have no issue with any of those six policy changes, BUT NONE of them would do as much as simply lowering the bar for existing criminal and mental health restrictions.
Too many of us, as Americans just don't fully understand this issue.
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